


Wanting To Learn

by MinMaxSpeech



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/F, Fluff, No shipping here, that’s it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-29
Updated: 2019-05-29
Packaged: 2020-03-29 11:33:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19019065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinMaxSpeech/pseuds/MinMaxSpeech
Summary: Samara was relaxing, meditating after dealing with her daughter on Omega. Until Commander Shepard entered, trying to befriend her, that is.





	Wanting To Learn

The room was quiet. For most, it would almost be eerie, to spend so much time in a room that is silent. However, for a Justicar, silence was a rare treat, something to savour when one has the chance. Even if Samara did do other things to relax, meditating in peace was something the Justicar found herself savouring above everything. When one has to do so much killing, see so much pain for her life, it grows to a point where simply clearing your mind of that is enough to be perfect. For Samara, this was especially true. Her daughter was now dead- by her hand. She was glad of that, it meant she could do something else. Think about something else. She had dedicated an entire century to trying to kill one of her beloved children. But that did not mean that it didn’t hurt. It hurt more than any bullet could. But now, Samara could dedicate herself to healing from that pain.

The door behind Samara opened. Only one woman would be cocky- or crazy- enough to simply stroll into a room with a Justicar without warning.  
“Hello, Commander.” Samara spoke quietly, not turning to look at Shepard. It was not a sign of disrespect to the woman she trusted more than any other. It was simply that Samara did not want to break her concentration.  
“Hey, Samara. Are you...alright?” Shepard was clearly choosing her words carefully. It had only been a week since she had killed Morinth.   
“If you are worried as to whether my abilities will be impaired for combat, fear not, Commander.”  
“You know that I am not talking about fighting, Samara.” Shepard actually sounded somewhat angry with Samara. The Justicar was caught off-guard by that.  
“Yes. I do.” Samara nodded, blinking her eyes and dissolving the orb of biotic energy held between her cyan hands. Turning to face the commander, Samara noted that genuine worry was clear in Shepard’s emerald eyes.

The Justicar rose to her feet, walking over to Shepard.  
“I… I am okay. I shall not pretend that I am not in pain, especially before you. But it’s a pain I have prepared myself to face for over one hundred years.” Samara spoke completely honestly.   
“Still. Prepared or not, I can’t imagine how you’re feeling.” Shepard met Samara’s eyes.  
“It is impossible to put into words. I… I killed my own daughter. I know it was the right thing. Morinth was a monster. But…”  
“But she was still your daughter.” Shepard finished Samara’s thoughts for her.  
“Indeed.” Samara nodded slowly, turning away from the Vanguard for a moment.

There was a moment of quiet noise as Shepard moved over to her- the floor was not as quiet as Samara would perhaps have preferred.   
“You know, Samara? I’m here for you, if you need a friend to talk to. I’ve already helped you, I don’t want you to feel ashamed if you need to ask for help.” Shepard sounded genuinely concerned for the Justicar.   
“I am aware, and grateful. But as I noted, having over a century to prepare yourself for a pain means that you are able to bear it well.” Samara noted. The justicar noted Shepard’s silence to that remark. The fiery redhead was clearly thinking. It was something Samara respected of the commander. Despite her seemingly endless energy, she was still able to stop and think. She doubted someone of a similar energy, like Kasumi Goto, would be able to do the same.   
“Can… Can I ask you something, Samara?” Shepard inquired.  
“Absolutely.” 

Shepard sat down for a moment.   
“Could you show me how to do your mediation stuff?”   
“Absolutely, but I did not think you would be the type to want to do this. From everything I’ve seen, your Biotic skills are less about fine precision and more about hitting things remarkably hard.” Samara smiled slightly, seeing the Commander attempt to mirror her pose when she meditated.  
“Well, yeah, that’s just how I was trained. I wanna get better with Biotics, and I wanna spend time with you. This way I can do both, and you can still meditate and relax.” Shepard reasoned. Samara blinked. The Asari had already shown the Commander how to Reave, arguably the most difficult Biotic talent she knew, and the Commander took to it as fast as any Asari had. Samara knew that Shepard was an especially potent Biotic. On some level, she wondered if she wasted that talent by largely using it to Charge into enemy lines. But if Shepard wished to develop her finesse with the talent, that was something Samara was more than happy to help with. 

Samara found herself hanging on another aspect of what her commander had said. That she wanted to spend time around Samara. The Justicar was not used to this. Normally, people kept well out of Samara’s way, lest they reveal something that would urge her to kill them. Even back when she was not sworn to Shepard, however, the Commander seemed… different. It was rare for someone to want to have a full conversation with her that was not simply about what she was doing there. She was genuinely interested in not only the Justicars (something Samara did not blame Shepard for not knowing about- they were relatively unknown outside of Asari space), but Samara as a person, too. When she had asked Miranda Lawson about Shepard, the Cerberus Operative had confirmed that the Commander genuinely tried to form a connection with every member of her crew. Even Donnelly and Daniels down in engineering had only good things to say about her. 

The fact that Shepard was going to such an extent to get to know Samara was almost confusing to her. Samara was sworn to her, guaranteeing that she would help to any level she could in the Commander’s mission. And yet, the Biotic was also trying to form a friendship with her. Not because she had to, but because she wanted to. Samara realised she had not replied to Shepard.  
“I will absolutely teach you, Commander. If you want help with developing new biotic techniques, just come to me. I shall help you as best I can.”   
“Thank you, Samara!” Shepard gave Samara a warm smile. Samara smiled herself, though not as brightly as the Commander did. Sitting next to Shepard, she began to coach the young woman.

“While meditating itself is relatively simple, maintaining a Biotic field throughout is something which adds both a layer of challenge and demands more focus, thus distracting you from whatever pain you would perhaps focus upon.” Samara spoke quietly, not wanting to mention the reason she had been spending so much time meditating recently.   
“I understand. I doubt I’ll be holding anything in the field?”  
“No, you won’t. The field will be a very weak one. Enough to appear but not enough to lift anything heavier than a feather.”   
“Sounds good!” 

Samara found herself smiling slightly.  
“You will want to focus your Biotic energy between your hands. Almost as if you were to release a blast of energy, but instead, hold it. For a moment, the energy will be great, but it will quickly weaken to a point where it can not harm a fly.” Samara spoke quietly. She was not entirely used to offering instructions for things outside of combat training. Shepard nodded, before stretching out her hands. A bright ball of blue energy quickly formed between her fingers, controlled by the will of the woman creating it. A mere second later, the energy seemed to dissipate into the air, breaking away from the ball and simply disappearing into the aether. Shepard opened her eyes to see if she had done it- previously having closed them to concentrate. The Commander’s normally green eyes had shifted to a bright cyan, light seemingly leaving the human’s retinas.

Samara was caught off-guard by this. While her own eyes emanated Biotic energy when she meditated, she was also wholly aware that her Biotics were both more powerful and more honed than Shepard’s- being alive for almost a thousand years would lead to one’s Biotics being incredibly powerful. The fact this human was able to manifest Biotics in such a way showed that the woman was not just skilled with Biotics, but exceptionally talented too. The Justicar had sensed something… unique, within the Commander, upon first meeting. A strong sense of morality, an air of danger despite a light hearted personality, a genuine desire to care for her friends. It was why she chose to work with the Commander. The Code did emphasise the idea that a Justicar should trust her instincts, and this was one that clearly did not fall through. 

Shepard’s eyes closed slowly, focusing on maintaining the energy contained between her hands. Choosing to join her in this, Samara sat down directly next to Shepard. Creating her own orb of Biotic energy, the Asari let out a single breath, and relaxed.

Over half an hour passed, neither woman speaking, or even particularly moving. Samara would open her eyes to check that Shepard’s Biotic orb was maintaining, and then quickly close them. The Justicar felt she had to say something to Shepard.  
“You know, Commander? This is nice. If you wish to meditate, or relax, know my door is always open to you.”   
“Thank you, Samara.” Shepard spoke quietly. Even if Samara wasn’t used to having friends, she was still able to tell that the Commander would be a good one. Maybe that was why she was chosen for this mission. Not her Biotics or her combat abilities, bug for her impossible skill at finding the smallest things to bond over someone with, and never giving up when it came to becoming friends with them. Samara had to fight the urge to laugh. It was funny. People would have guessed that the first people to travel through the Omega-4 relay would be explorers, with the greatest technology and funding of the most powerful governments. Not 12 people of various races (and levels of sanity), all united under the singular fact that Commander Shepard made friends with them.

It was bizarre, but then, so was everything about the mission. Samara would enjoy everything until it was over. Even if she was hurting, she could still admit that she found happiness. Even if it was just in the company of a Biotic prodigy with red hair and slightly too many scars.


End file.
